How important are your pets to your health.

I suffer from a chronic health condition (fibromyalgia) which leaves me exhausted (and then some) and in pain pretty much the whole time. This is the reason I no longer have a dog - I simply cannot be sure I will be able to take it for walks and give it the necessary exercise and my OH is not a dog lover. I do however have my 3 cats - mum (called Lucky) and 2 "kittens" - now 2 years old and bigger than she is.

The cats make such a difference to me. When I am having a bad day and cannot get out of bed I usually end up with company in the form of a purring furball. If I am getting grumpy and snappy with people because of the pain I can chill out by stroking them. They even keep me amused with their antics and laughter is a wonderful medicine. I would be lost without them.

Is there anyone else here with health problems who is helped by their pets? How much difference do you think pets make in helping sick people?